


Of Backwards Ties and Blue Eyes

by regardinglove



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, College, Fluff, Fun, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-06
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-25 02:21:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4943014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regardinglove/pseuds/regardinglove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The three times that Dean can’t stand wearing a uniform, and the one time he can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Backwards Ties and Blue Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Written for SPN Writing Challenge on Tumblr. The prompt was uniform.

  _September 15th, 1987_

“I don’t wanna wear this shirt! It itches!”

“Dean, it’s a uniform. It’s required,” Mary explains, but Dean isn’t having it. He frowns back at his mom and then stomps over to his bed. He picks up the offending garment and tosses it across the room in a tizzy, then plops down on the ground.

“I don’t care! It’s ugly,” Dean snorts. He’s about to go on about how it’s not only ugly, but it’s stupid too, but Mary’s glare stops his tirade.

“Dean, you’re eight years old. You don’t get a say in this, or where you go to school!” Mary interrupts before Dean can respond.

He crosses his arms and pulls his knees up to his chest. “It’s dumb,” he mutters under his breath, and Mary just lets out a sigh. She crawls down to the ground and pulls Dean into a side hug.

“Honey, is the uniform the real problem here?” she asks, and Dean feels the blush rise to his cheeks. Busted.

“No…” he whispers under his breath. “I don’t wanna change schools, Momma. Why can’t I stay at Lawrence Community?”

Mary picks Dean up and lets him curl into her embrace.  “It’s what’s best for you in the long run, sweetie. You’ll love Edlund Prep once you get there, I promise. And I’m sure you’ll make tons of new friends.”

Dean’s ears perk up at that and he turns to look Mary in the eye. “Really? Tons?”

“Yes, Dean. Tons! And Sammy will be only a few classrooms down from you in kindergarten. You’ll probably see each other all day long.”

“Okay,” Dean whispers, and then leans up to leave a kiss on Mary’s cheek. “I’ll go to the new school.”

“That’s the boy I raised,” Mary responds, then lets Dean crawl out of her arms. “Now put on that shirt and tie, then get downstairs. We don’t want to be late on our first day, do we?”

“Nope!” Dean calls out, and then runs over to the bed where the shirt is. He pulls it on with the tie and even tucks it into his new navy pants too, then quickly grabs his backpack from the desk before running down the stairs and into the car.

It is going to be a good day.

* * *

It’s not a good day.

The minute after Dean gets dropped off at his classroom, Ms. Naomi reprimands him for having his tie on backwards. The class giggles as she flips it around the correct way, and then tells Dean to take a seat in the front row.

An hour after that, Dean answers a question wrong and the class laughs again. He can feel his cheeks burn pink and he slouches down lower in his chair, hoping that he won’t be picked on for the next question Ms. Naomi asks.

By lunchtime, everyone in the class has deemed Dean the “new kid” and treats him like one. Zachariah throws a grape at him from across the classroom table, and it takes everything in Dean not to throw it right back. Gordon sneers at him when he asks for a napkin, and Ruby makes fun of his tie when it flips backwards for the third time that day.

When recess comes along and everyone runs off with their friend groups, Dean is left alone by the door and wills himself not to cry when Gordon calls him a “freak” from across the playground.

He hates this dumb place. He misses Jo and Charlie and Ash back at Lawrence Community. _He wants to go home_.

Dean’s considering going to the nurse’s office and faking sick when a finger taps him on the shoulder.

“What?” Dean growls as tears begin to fill his eyes.

“Are you okay?” a little voice calls out from behind him, and Dean turns around. The boy who is standing in front of him is familiar. He’s got on navy pants and a white shirt, but the most noticeable thing about him is that his tie is also on backwards.

He’s also the only kid in class who didn’t make fun of him.

“‘M fine,” Dean mutters under his breath, and then turns to swipe the tears away from his eyes before the boy can see them.

“You’re crying,” the boy points out, and Dean curls his fingers into his palms.

“Yeah, so? You’ve gotta problem with that?”

“Yes, I do. I want to make you feel better.” The boy reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cookie he must’ve taken from the cafeteria. “It’s chocolate chip. It’s yours if you want it.”

Dean eyes the cookie and then cautiously takes it between his fingers. The boy’s eyes are impossibly blue, and they kinda freak Dean out, if he’s being honest.

“Thanks,” Dean says, and then takes a bite out of the cookie. The chips melting on his tongue are like magic, and only Mary’s cookies could compare. “These are awesome!” Dean says between bites, and the boy grins back at him. “Thanks...uh…”

The boy sticks out his hand. “Castiel Novak,” he responds.

Dean shoves the last bit of cookie into his mouth and then shakes Castiel’s hand. “Dean Winchester. Nice to meet you, Cas.”

The boy- Cas, he reminds himself- quirks an eyebrow at him. “Cas?”

Dean blushes. “I can’t say Casti...Casteel…”

“Castiel,” Cas corrects him. “Like Cas...tee...el.”

“Cas...tee...el…Castiel!” Dean exclaims, and a big grin rises to his face when Cas nods his approval.

“You...can call me Cas though,” he says sheepishly while averting his gaze to the ground.

Dean reaches over and lightly punches Cas in the shoulder. “Okay, Cas. Wanna go play on the jungle gym?”

The other boy gleams up at him and begins running off towards the playground. “Only if you can keep up!”

Dean watches Cas take off like a flash of lightning, and he laughs. It feels good to have a friend.

 

_March 1st, 1995_

“I can’t believe you talked me into joining the rugby team. This uniform sucks ass.”

Cas throws a glare over at Dean as they run laps around the field. The other boys are huffing and puffing for air while him and Dean glide on easily, their winter training kicking in nicely.

“Really now, Dean? Again with the uniform complaining? They aren’t that bad.”

“They’re brown and yellow. What are we, the Charlie Brown brigade?”

Cas slows his run to a crawl as the coach blows the whistle, and Dean does the same.

“Why rugby, anyway? We’re in America, Cas! We should’ve joined football, like real Americans.”

Cas runs fingers through his hair and follows Dean over to the bleachers to sit down. He knows that the uniforms aren’t the real problem; it’s just a way that Dean filters through whatever is really bothering him. His mother once told Cas that it’s been his favorite defense mechanism ever since he was a child.

“What’s the real problem, Dean?” Cas says. “We’ve been friends for years. You can’t pull this shit with me anymore.”

Dean tries to retort, but nothing comes out of his mouth. He crosses his arms over his chest and scowls in Cas’s direction. “Fine. It’s not the uniforms; it’s Lisa.”

Cas cringes at the name and can only pray that Dean didn’t notice. It isn’t that Lisa is a bad person or anything, it’s just that her and Dean are terrible for one another. They’ve only been officially dating for three weeks, and they’ve already broken up and gotten back together three times.

“Did you two break it off again?” Cas asks out of courtesy, not necessity, because Dean’s face says it all. He’s toeing the ground and clinging onto the bleacher bench so hard his knuckles are white.

“I didn’t,” Dean emphasizes. “She did this time. Said somethin’ about not being held back by a relationship.”

The whistle blows again and both boys get up from their seats. Cas doesn’t reply and Dean doesn’t either, the two walking in silence back to the practice field. Their coach instructs them to do drills, and then they flow right into a practice game. With Cas and Dean on opposing teams, they don’t get to talk about Lisa until they’re dismissed for the day, and by that point Dean’s looks beyond annoyed.

“Why even go out with me in the first place if you’re going to break it off a week later!” Dean exclaims as they walk towards the locker room. “Ridiculous.”

“She just wasn’t right for you, Dean,” Cas replies, but Dean just snorts.

“They never are. I should just give up on this whole ‘relationship’ thing. Nobody wants me, anyway. Everyone leaves.”

Cas feels the words rising to his tongue, _I would never leave you_ , but he pushes them back and stays silent. He keeps telling himself that one day he’ll admit that he’s in love with his best friend, that he has been ever since they bonded over backwards ties in the third grade, but he knows the truth. Cas is not exactly one to declare his feelings, and even though Dean’s been openly bisexual since freshman year, he highly doubts that Dean’s feelings are in tune with his.

Instead of admitting any of this, Cas wraps an arm around Dean’s waist ( _in a totally platonic way_ ) and pulls his friend into an awkward side hug. When Dean doesn’t push away, Cas considers it a win, and he guides them back towards the wafting smell of sweat socks and body odor, imagining what it would be like if they were holding hands instead.

 

_May 1st, 2001_

Dean looks at himself in the mirror and cringes at what he finds. The blue graduation robe is ten times too big and it engulfs him from head to toe. The hat looks terrible too, and it’s not staying on to boot.

“Cas, are you almost ready to go?” he calls.

“I’m by the door when you’re ready!” Cas replies, and Dean just pushes around the fabric a few more times before admitting defeat and exiting the closet.

“I hate this color on-” Dean begins, but his words are brought up short when he takes in Cas. His friend (probably by witchcraft) has managed to pull off the atrocious graduation robe perfectly. It brings out the cerulean in his eyes and, unlike Dean, Cas ordered his gown in the right size. He is so taken aback that he doesn’t even realize the staring until Cas clears his throat awkwardly.

“Uh, we better get going…” Dean trails off awkwardly, and then bolts out the door with a blush rising to his cheeks.

“Dean!” he hears Cas calling from behind. “Wait up!”

Dean complies and lingers by the doors to their apartment building. Cas is practically running to catch up, and by the time he reaches Dean he’s a little pink in the cheeks.

“What was that about?” he asks in a huff, eyebrows raised.

“Nothin’, dude. It’s just the-”

“If you blame this on the graduation robe so help me, Dean, I’ll punch you in the face,” Cas threatens as he walks closer. “You’ve been acting weird for weeks now. What gives?”

Dean worries the edge of his graduation gown and averts his eyes to the ground. He could tell Cas the truth. He could finally get the balls to tell his best friend that he’s had this big, obtrusive crush on him for years, one that’s beginning to morph into something bigger. He could explain that the reason he’s been acting so weird lately is because he’s been trying to work up the courage to ask Cas out on a date. Dean could admit that those blue eyes that he once thought were weird as a child are the best part of his day now, that Cas’s presence is enough to brighten up his mood, that Cas is everything to Dean, but instead he plays it off with a frown.

“Nothing,” Dean replies, a bit harsher then necessary. “Just drop it, Cas.”

He makes a beeline for the door, but Cas steps in front of him. “No, I won’t. You’ve been avoiding the apartment, taking extra shifts at work, and now you won’t even look me in the eye? Did...I ‘eff up somehow, Dean?”

“No, it isn’t you,” Dean whispers. “Just...it’s just…”

“Just what?” Cas whispers, and then he is so close that Dean can feel Cas’s breath lingering on his lips.

Needless to say that all coherent thought leaves him right then, and instead of answering the question with words, Dean goes for actions.

It doesn’t take a lot of movement. Dean just leans forward slightly and experimentally brushes his lips against Cas’s. When his friend doesn’t jump backwards or run away, he pushes forward again, this time with more gusto. The reaction he gets is beautiful. Cas dives in, grabbing Dean’s arms and maneuvering him against the glass door. When Dean’s breaths begin to pick up speed, Cas’s do too, and then he can’t hide the moan that slips from his lips when Cas licks inside.

When a wolf whistle from outside breaks them apart, Dean’s positive that he’s about to combust.

Luckily, Cas looks like he's affected too. His pupils are blown wide and his lips are puffy and deliciously pink.

“Dean,” Cas asks, “what was that?”

“Well, I guess that was me trying to tell you that I’ve got a bit of a crush on you, Cas.”

Cas’s eyes widen. “Excuse me? You’ve got a crush on me?”

Dean feels the air in the room turn electric, and he immediately wishes he could rewind and pretend that he didn’t just throw his feelings to the wind.

“Look, it’s fine if you don’t return the feelings or whatever. I...you know what? Just forget it. I’ll go now-”

Cas lunges forward and brings his lips to Dean’s again. All the earlier fire is still there, and if Cas’s hands in his hair is any indication, the feelings Dean admitted to are returned, fully.

“Dean, I return your feelings. Completely,” Cas says once they pull apart. “I’ve liked you as more than a friend ever since I gave you that cookie in the third grade.”

Dean blinks back at Cas, because this can’t be true. “No way, really? All this time?”

“Yeah?” Cas says, like it’s obvious. “How long has it been for you?”

“Ever since you beat up Gordon for calling me a fag in junior year,” he admits with a light blush once again rising to his cheeks.

“Wow…” Cas says with a grin on his face. “We’re just a couple of dumbasses then.”

Dean laughs, and then pecks another kiss onto Cas’s lips. “Yeah, but at least we got here, right?”

Cas looks at Dean with absolute joy in his eyes, and then kisses him again. Dean’s eyes flutter when Cas’s lips find his collarbone, and when he leaves a little bite there, Dean actually yelps.

“The ceremony starts in fifteen minutes,” Dean gets out, but Cas’s kisses are anything but tame anymore.

“Forget about it. The robe looks terrible on you anyway,” Cas says with a gleam in his tone.

“Hey!” Dean protests, but Cas brings a finger to his lips.

“I’d rather use the time to take it off of you, if you’d like.”

Dean doesn’t need to be told twice. He picks Cas up like he weighs nothing, and tosses the graduation hat behind him as he walks up the stairs.

 

_August 29th, 2005_

Nothing is going right in Cas’s world today.

First, one of the more troublesome students thought it would be a good idea to pull the fire alarm...during a thunderstorm. This left Cas trying to keep track of thirty disgruntled freshman English students who were all vying for the few umbrellas the teachers were able to get their hands on. After the building was cleared and everyone was wetter than the rain itself, the final bell of the day rang and Cas had to go to a staff meeting. Nobody wanted to be there, and the principal dragged on for hours about new policies and procedures to ensure school productivity. By the time they were dismissed, Cas had a text from Dean in his inbox, informing him that he would be working late tonight and not to wait up for him. And, on the way home, Cas got into a fender bender.

By the time Cas pulls up in front of his and Dean’s apartment building, all he wants is to reheat the pizza they ordered last night and curl up with his _Friends_ reruns.

Needless to say, that is not what happens.

When Cas opens the door, an absolutely decadent aroma fills his nose. He recognizes it as the smell of his favorite chocolate chip cookies, and sure enough, sitting on the edge of their counter is a fresh batch.

“Thank you, Dean,” Cas whispers to no one, and then reaches down to pick up the piece of paper that is sticking out from underneath the plate.

_Come to the bedroom- D_

Cas raises his eyebrows at that but doesn’t question it. He grabs a cookie from the plate and eats it as he walks. When he gets close to the bedroom, he begins to hear music drifting, and when he opens the door he’s taken aback.

Rose petals blanket the entirety of the floor, and  _All Out of Love_ is softly playing from their radio. But, the most beautiful thing about the room is Dean himself. He’s nervously playing with the hem of his suit jacket, and when he brings his gaze up to Cas’s, his eyes are glowing with adoration.

“You are wearing a suit?” Cas says carefully, and Dean walks towards him.

“Yeah, y’know, thought it was appropriate this time. Uniforms aren’t all bad, I guess.”

Cas grins, but then turns serious again. “Dean...did you do all this for me?”

His boyfriend nods, and then reaches into his jacket. When he takes out a little black box, Cas can’t hide the gasp that rises to his lips. It’s not like it’s much of a surprise, either. They’d been talking about getting married for over a year.

“Look, I’m not good with words or anythin’ so I’ll make this quick. You’ve been there with me, by me, ever since the third grade. You were the one who was always there for me, the one who’s always loved me. I...I need you, Cas. And I always will. So...will you be my partner for life?”

Cas can’t even get the words out. He just nods and accepts the gold band that Dean presents for him.

“I love you,” Cas whispers when Dean pulls him into a tight hug.

“Yeah,” Dean replies. “I love you, too.”


End file.
